THE LAST OF TIME
by The Several
Summary: [CH5 UP!] A sequel to Our Destiny Alone, but explanations will be given in case you didn't read it. Max & Monica once again embarks on a journey, this time to save everything from everything else. And who is this called The Child of Nothing?
1. Our Newest Beginning

**THE LAST OF TIME**

A _Dark Cloud 2_ Fanfic

**Chapter 1: Our Newest Beginning----**

By The Several

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**The Several:** _Whooo! Finally, because of the school year-end, I can continue to write more DC2 fanfics! Hooray for me! Unfortunately, this won't last long because I have to work soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to write and update in a decent period of time._

_Actually, I was supposed to release this four days ago, but there was an error that didn't let me upload the data. Finally, now it is fixed!_

_And about this fanfic: I guess it could be considered as a direct sequel to my other one,_ **Our Destiny Alone** _since it will have the new train Blackstone Ragna, and a few other spoilers. If you haven't read_ **ODA**_, then you might want to read that first before I continue._

_If you are going to continue reading anyway, then I was going to say that Daniele (Monica's great great great grandmother) and Lubos (Monica's great x3 grandfather) are going to be here too. Plus, a new character mentioned in the summary._

_Anyway, let's get this story started:_

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Cedric, Max's mechanical mentor, was working hard on the new upgrades on his mechanical marvel, Steve. He had been spending all week telling everyone that his newest modification will beat every previous invention he had ever done before.

During Max and Monica's "Welcome Home and Saved the World Again" celebration party a few weeks ago, it was in all of the topics he had been discussing with his buddies.

Although no one had doubted his mechanical genius, no one could believe it could top his previous one – the Blackstone Ragna, a flying train. To Cedric, it was pretty understandable that everyone believed a flying train takes all cakes, but he was absolutely certain this latest one would outdo every invention the world will ever make.

Well, until he says it again on his NEXT invention, anyway.

That was typical of Cedric anyway. His latest invention will always either be in the same rank, or will outdo his previous work. That was the mind of an inventor.

Cedric worked his way up to his roof to gather a few parts he completely forgot that he was working on a few months ago. Again, the mind of an inventor: the loss of flair for one invention for another. As Cedric picked the parts from the crevasses of his roof, a flicker of hard snow falls onto his head that was big enough for him to feel. It was small, but it was noticable.

Snow is an eventful time in Palm Brinks, and the mere sight of it brings joy to all the children Max's age or below. Heck, Max's childishness was comparable to the smallest of children, so that was definitely an understatement.

But Cedric instead picked the snowdrop from his head, and crushed its crystal form on his hand, giving a serious face as the snow melted into his gloves. It wasn't because he was angry at the existence of snow, but rather for another particular reason.

"It sure is weird weather for summer…" Cedric commented ominously, looking at the sky as the black snow fell to the rooftops of Palm Brinks.

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Monica and Max were inside Max's mansion the whole day, ignorant of the events outside. Since the events of the Enders, the Dark beings they fought, and the celebration after all that, the events forwarding had been pretty normal for kids their age. One would agree that fighting evil and risking their lives would only make children their age lose more of their childhood than needed.

But Monica, the proud warrior that she was, although had no love for violence or the like, felt that she needed excitement. She was afraid to admit it, but she enjoyed the thrill of battle, lethal or not. Sparring with Max was okay, but it would be more exciting if he actually beat her once in a while.

Max on the other hand liked the quiet lifestyle. Although because of his inner child and naïve pacificism, he would always be at the end of Monica's constant torture to him, teasing him like siblings do to each other (except that theirs was one-sided; only Monica actually teased). This brought a sigh of relief to everyone that they, in fact, are still kids – and like little kids they shall act.

"MAAAAXXX! I'M LOST AGAAAAIN!" Monica shouted through the halls of Max's insanely large mansion.

She had been living with him since she came to his time period, much to the disagreement of Max's dad – as well as many of Max's admirers. Leaving two children in the same house alone didn't really bring appropriate thoughts from the townsfolk – which Monica would dismiss with a wave of her angry fist, while Max would dismiss it by being really, really dense (translation: he didn't get it). Although she had been living with him for months since she arrived in Max's time from her own, she still could not remember her way through every nook and cranny of Max's humble home. This was an understandable fact, since Max's house was the size of an adult whale squared (as in the mathematical term, not making the whale all box-y like a cube).

At one time, Max had thought of putting communication machines around the house where Monica could speak to and Max could just relay the directions to her.

The problem was, that it wasn't invented yet.

The ridiculousness of this was obvious to Max, since even though they had fighting robots and flying trains, a complicated system of intercoms were lost to them.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming! Ready or not, here I come!" Max shouted joyfully to wherever Monica was in the house. To him, the search for Monicawas more or less a game of hide and seek. Max too was bored by the adventureless life of an average child, but technically anything could brighten him in no time. A simple but efficient way of thinking.

Monica on the other hand, would not wait for Max to come and look for her. She was getting impatient, as always, that Max would drag out this search with an imaginary game.

"That's it! Next time Max installs a bathroom in this house, I'm making sure they're NOT all on the same wing!" Monica said, stomping to the direction of the nearest window. "Like I always say: if you can't find a door, go through the window."

But after taking a few steps forward, Monica suddenly felt a sharp pain inside her. "W… What's happening? M-Max…"

When Max found the room where she was, he finds her lying on the ground, a rain of sweat sweeping her body.

"Monica! Monica! Are you alright? Monica!"

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Even in the strange black-snowed weather that was sweeping through the world, Max brought Monica to different doctors around the area, but to no avail. Monica's strange ailment was new to every practitioner of medicine in the world, and therefore had no way to devise a cure. The whole town was in an uproar about Monica's severe illness, hoping that someone from somewhere would give them a clue what it was – and how it could be cured.

A few days later, that miracle from somewhere came to Max's house in a form he did not expect.

"Sorry I'm late! The weatheroutside is pretty darn weird... Black snow everywhere..." Donny commented loudly, shaking the black crystals off his coat. "This black snow isn't cold, but it's really botherin' me..."

"Donny? What are you doing here?" Max said surprised, expecting another doctor.

"What does it look like? I think I gotta answer to yer probl'm!"

"You do?" Max said in a hopeful voice. "Then please… tell me!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" Donny said waving, gesturing him to sit. After Max had calmed down, Donny got to the point.

"I don't know what it's called in her time, but I call it ChronoPulsation," Donny explains. "I've been doing a lot of research and experiments since Griffo—er, Sirus, and I found out that this sickness is fluctuated in a body that has been out of the normal time anomaly when the original space is capacitated in a form or manner that sends it out of the chronic continuum of existence."

After that, Max was more confused than ever. "In English?"

"It's like this basically," Donny said, trying to slow down. He then sighed, and summarized everything he said in one sentence:

"…Max, her time has been erased... and soon, the same will happen to her."

**To be continued….**

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**NEXT CHAPTER:** _Two familiar friends from the future come to Max's time in order to cure Monica from the deadly time sickness. Unfortunately, this reunion is cut short when all time collapses into each other, and the world is yet again threatened by an anomaly of existence._

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**The Several:** _I hope to update real soon! Please R&R!_


	2. The Darkening

**THE LAST OF TIME**

A _Dark Cloud 2 _Fanfic

**Chapter 2: The Darkening----**

By The Several

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"Max, her time has been erased." Those words echoed inside his head like a voice from a deep well - a depth so low it shook the shackles of his sanity.

Max suddenly stood up in the shock, making the chair he was sitting on fall on to the floor with an echoed thud - an echo inside his mind. For him, everything became slower, as if time had stopped for him to ponder on those thoughts. He was sure he heard Donny's words correctly, but that made him wish he didn't. "W… What are you talking about?"

Before Donny got a reply, a sudden scream came from outside his house. "What was that?" Donny wondered.

"Trouble. One after another," Max replied. His life had been a string of strange events that were interconnected into one another, and he was positive that whatever was happening to Monica had something to do with the commotion outside his house… which will then escalate into the largest scale imaginable.

Slamming the doors open, he ran outside, only to be horrified that several of the townsfolk were wounded and lying down on the ground. He couldn't tell if they were unconscious or dead, but whatever the case was made Max want to find whatever did this and destroy it.

Problem was, there was nothing in sight. Aside from the strange, black snow that rained earlier, there was nothing else unusual.

Suddenly, Max is tackled by something growling from his side. Max girdles in pain, but when he opened his eyes, there was nothing there. "W… What is going on?"

Suddenly, for a moment, his eyes tweaked and he could see an indescribable "bend" in the space. Hoping either that this was all a bad dream or that his theory was correct, Max took out his optimized battle wrench, Sigma Breaker, and swung as hard as he could where the space "bended."

Max smiles as the latter hope was correct, and he could hear his attacker dissipating from existence, the bend in space restoring to normal.

"Max, what the cow farmin' dairy local was that?" Donny asked, surprised as he was watching Max from the door to his house.

"I didn't understand that expression you just said, but these attackers… they're invisible! Look at the space around you, and if you see some sort of bend in the air, that's where they are!"

"Got it," Donny okay-ed as he assembled his weapon and aimed it at the nearest space distortion. "Good thing I always be carryin' my patented Glacier Machinegun, "Baby"! Eat frozen lead, that's what ya takin'!" With his oddly phrased battle cry, Donny went full-auto on every space distortion around Max's house, eliminating the strange new enemies with sharp ice needles that shot at full speed from his Glacier Machinegun.

"You named your weapon "Baby"?" Max asked as he too eliminated the invisible creatures in the area with his customized battle-wrench.

"What can I do? You took my baby, so I made a few of my own!" Donny replied, referring about the gun he gave Max at the beginning of his adventures.

Before long, Max and Donny realized that the space distortion farther from them were getting fewer, but the ones around them were increasing.

"Donny, I think they're after something in this particular direction."

"I don't doubt it. My guess is, they're after Monica."

"Well, not while I'm around!" Max replied, doing a spin attack on the faceless pursuers, eliminating the closer ones.

"Hey, Max! Let us!" a voice from nowhere said.

In the sudden instant a familiar train literally jumped out in front of them from a time vortex and ran over the invisible enemies, destroying them all in the process.

"Whoah! Is that the Ixion?" Max wondered, as the glowing badly-designed train stopped in front of Max's house.

Donny shook his head. "Dang man, that is ugly! Who the heck designed this overly-electrified heap?"

"That would be me," a voice from inside an opening door in the front car said. It was Osmond - the designer of Ixion, and Doctor Knobb - another friend from the future Luna Lab - was there too. "And for criticizing my work, remind me to tell my ancenstors in this time to bother you for the rest of your life."

"Believe me, Osmond, even in the future, it's happening," Knobb replied with a chuckle, referring to Osmond and himself (who was Donny's future kin).

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Osmond said, raising his fist at the other doctor.

Donny was confused, as the two strangers suddenly argued relentlessly with each other. "Max, who's the masked bunny and the guy with the bad haircut?"

"Oh. That's Doctor Osmond and Doctor Knobb. They're from the future where Monica came from… Oh man! Monica!" Max suddenly remembered. Max ran inside the house and checked how she was.

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The people outside that were attacked by the invisible creatures were taken to Doctor Dell's house,and after several arguments later, Knobb and Osmond finally settled down inside the room where Monica was lying down in Max's house.

"I was right all along," Knobb thought, examining Monica's condition. "As I thought, she was affected by ChronoPulsation."

Donny was stunned. "Hey, I never told anyone but Max about that! How did you know what I called her sickness?"

"Because in our future's history, you were the one who named it."

"Oh."

"So, you can fix her, right?" Max suddenly shot out, interrupting their menial conversation.

Osmond stood up and took out a medical bag. "Sure, sure… I'll just inject a rejection vaccine to her, and she'll be good as new." With that, he took out an injection, and filled it with some sort of fluid from a bottle. After injecting Monica with it, he breathed a sign of relief to its success. "Whew! That should do it. Because of the rejection vaccine, her body will counter the fact that she's not from our time. As you can see, we've already injected ourselves with this to prevent our own erasures. Now all we have to do is wait." But only seconds later, Monica already started moving.

"Well, that was fast," Knobb scratched his head in wonder.

Seeing her improvement, Max leaped to where Monica was lying and cried out, "Monica! Monica!"

Donny patted him on the shoulder with an embarassed sigh and said, "Don't be dramatic, genius. She's just tired."

In that instant, Monica stood up, still feeling a little groggy. And then, with a snap, closed her eyes and inhaled for a big one. **"MAAAAX! WHEEEERE THE HECK ARE YOU?"** she shouted as loud as she could, sending everyone else in the room falling from their chairs. Obviously, Monica thought Max still hasn't found her yet.

"Um, here I am," Max said weakly as he tried to stand up from his fall.

Monica dropped a sweat. "…Oh."

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Before long, Max, Monica, and the others were back to their seats, and had explained to her what had happened so far.

"Before… you said that Monica's time was erased… right?" Everyone looked to Max, who was looking down, cringing and shaking. Suddenly, he took Donny by the neck and held him harshly against the wall. "YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE LYING!"

Everyone was surprised at his sudden attack. They know exactly why he was angry though. His mother was also from Monica's time.

Monica then tried to pry his hands away from Donny. "Don't take it out on him, Max! It wasn't his fault!"

Max stopped, releasing Donny from his death grip. "You're right… It isn't..." He then fell on the wall on his knees, crying. "But mom… She's still there… and Crest… and everyone…"

Monica led him to his chair again, and although she herself felt like either crying or blaming it on someone, she perservered and decided to change the topic instead. "Those invisible creatures that you said attacked this town… They're involved in this, aren't they?"

"Yes. That fact we're quite sure of," Osmond replied. "Those invisible creatures that bent space in the area where they exist – also known as space distortions – are actually pieces of destroyed time, most likely the time that our new enemy has destroyed so far… including our own time, Monica."

"Another enemy?" Donny hysterically complained. "Man alive! How many evil beings are there that the Ancient Ones made with world-destroying powers? is this another Star of Oblivion?"

"Actually…" Knobb said in a more serious tone. "…This new enemy is not quite like the others. Yes, the information about this enemy can mostly be found in the Ancient One's scriptures, but…"

"…But what?"

"I don't know what our enemy is called," Knobb continued, "but what we do know… is that it is a huge beast that has the power to eat all dimensions of time… and that it cannot be seen, or hurt with any weapon at all."

"Great! Huge, destructive, invincible, and invisible! That's the most lethal combination of traits a time-eating beast can have!" Donny shouted in panic, tearing of his own hair in anger. "And you're sure no weapon can hurt it?"

"To tell you the truth," Osmond instead replied. "Even the Ancient Ones tried to kill this unnamed beast… but they utterly failed. What we need to find out is where to get more kn—"

Suddenly, a great quake shook the foundations of the house to its limits.

"Oh no…" Knobb said in complete terror.

"Wh… What's the matter?" Monica asked, expecting the worse.

"This time… It's going to be erased as well!"

"WHAT?" Max suddenly answered. "No… even us…"

"Snap out of it, Max!" Monica interrupted. "Osmond, what can we do?"

"I was actually ready for this, but I didn't think it would happen… What's the biggest place everyone in town can fit in?"

"The train station… Why?"

"That's going to have to be good enough," Osmond replied, halfway panicking as he took out the keys to Ixion and pointed at the door. "We have 23 minutes to get everyone onto the Ixion and inside the station! Let's move!"

Running around on Osmond's lightshow of a train, Max and Monica were able to round up everyone in town onto the Ixion. As they finally headed to the vicinity of Palm Brink's Train Station, Monica looks to the scenery to the back of the train and gasps.

The scenery behind them was getting disintegrated piece by piece, disappearing into the darkness. The Ixion boosted to full power as Max watched the Sun, the horizon, the Zelmite Mines, his house, and everything else, disappear into the deepest depths of nothingness like a blackhole sucking everything they had ever cared for.

Ixion stopped abruptly in front of the station's gate, opening the hatch to let everyone out and inside the station. After making sure no one was left inside, Knobb and Max ran towards the direction of the gate.

But suddenly, Max remembered something terribly important. He looked back to the missing horizon, and said, "Oh no! Dad! He's still in Heim Rada!"

"It's too late, Max! Let's go! We're the only hope now!" Knobb insisted to him, pulling him to the gates.

"I can't! Dad! DAAAD!"

With a hard push, Knobb trips him to the gates where Osmond and Monica catch him. But it was too late for him, as the dark infinity swallowed him and the Ixion… before Osmond had to close the gates to prevent it from happening to them. As it closed, Osmond activated a device that powered up a field to prevent them the area of the train station from being destroyed as well.

Beyond the station's gate, as it closed, Max could hear the invisible beast's laughter, mocking him. The time destroyer had won.

"This field should keep us from the time deletion that's happened in this time. So technically, right now, we're floating in the darkness of nonexistence."

"Yeah," Donny replied with a frightened gulp. "But how do we get out?"

Monica was too busy worrying about Max to listen to them. She walked closer and closer from behind him, and finally touching his shoulder, feeling him shake all over. "…Max?"

Max tried to look beyond the closed station gates. There, he could see the enemy in his mind. He wasn't shaking from sadness. It was anger. His fist tightens, and he turns around, trying not to look back. _'I don't care how long it takes, or how much I'm willing to do… I will find that thing… and I will deal with him…'_

**To be continued…**

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**PREVIEW:** With no way to leave the field since Ixion was destroyed, it was time to modify the Blackstone Ragna once again. But where can they possibly go to find clues to what they were up against? Answer – nowhere.

**Next chapter onTHE LAST OF TIME:** _"Into The Nothing!"_

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**The Several:**_Well, everything'sgone now. Monica and Maxas well as everyone in town has nowhere else to go. What's gonna happen now?Well, more coming up soon! Please review!_

_And if you noticed, I used Sigma Breaker as his weapon instead of Grade Zero. This is because I don't really like Grade Zero's design, and Sigma Breaker looked cooler to me. If you read the Grade Zero's description, what does it mean? And Monica's Lamb Sword as well. I heard from somewhere that the Lamb Sword, if not fighting, says that it wants to quench its thurst. And that after beating some enemies, it says something else. Is this true?_


	3. Into The Nothing!

**THE LAST OF TIME**

A _Dark Cloud 2 _Fanfic

**Chapter 3: Into The Nothing!----**

By The Several

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**The Several:** _I'm so glad everyone liked my fic! I thought everyone would be mad that I keep torturing Max and Monica with painful events.__ Sorry, I've been inspired a lot by watching_ **Fullmetal Alchemist** _(Oh, Nina… Nina…)_

_You know, I really cried at that episode where Nina dies. It affected me so badly I stopped watching TV for a week. The_ **FMA** _anime was really well done… but I'd still like to beat up the creator for killing Nina_

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Darkness. Pure darkness. There was nothing elsein the middle of non-existence. Stuck in the limbo of time, the only thing remaining in Palm Brinks was its famed train station - a gathering of all souls left alive in Max's time.

Luckily enough, the station was big enough to house everyone in Palm Brinks, thanks to the renovations the mayor added months ago to celebrate its opening. Need had no clue that his decision on renovating would one day save them all from a most horrible end.

But now, their next decision was a long awaited answer.

"Damn!" Doctor Osmond cursed as he stomped the floor hard with his foot. "Doctor Knobb's gone… and the Ixion – maybe our only hope for survival – is also gone… Damn it! Can't anything go right?"

Donny understood his dilemma clearly. But being Dr. Knobb's ancestor, as well as being overly clever and smart, Donny came up with ideas that most people would have to analyze in hours.

Donny headed over quickly beside the Blackstone Ragna, and hummed. Humming to him was only done in rare occasions, and was very uncommon. But at this particular moment, their problem was an uncommon one as well.

"Hey, Osmond… come 'ere!"

Osmond, still worrying under his breath, walked over to where Donny was. "What is it?"

"Do you still have the Ixion's blueprints? Or at least remember how it works?"

"…I have some of the original blueprints, but I do know most of the final version's mechanisms."

"Great," Donny replied, as he showed his idea by patting at the metal body of the Blackstone Ragna with a smile. "Well we have 'ere a volunteer!"

Osmond quickly realized his idea and did a full body scan of the "primitive" train. "I can't believe it… the train prototype… The Blackstone Ragna!" He then quickly took out his bag and looked at the earliest blueprints available. "…There are some differences, but it's the original one… The Blackstone Ragna Version One – a historical marvel!"

Donny felt a sweatdrop come down as Osmond hugged the train saying, "Oh magnificent… Kill me now, I must be dreaming…"

Donny shook him violently to snap him out of it. "I'd loooove to kill you for disturbing me with your intimate love of trains, but we still need you. Can you handle it?"

Osmond gave a thumbs up. "Leave it to me! But first…" Donny was bewildered again as Osmond hugged the train for a second time. "…Do you mind if I kiss it?"

"Yes."

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"Hey, Max… you alright?" Monica said worryingly as she tapped his shoulder.

Max turns to her, looking slightly unwell. "…I'm fine."

Monica touches his forehead to feel if he had a fever. "…You don't feel fine."

"I know what you're thinking… and thank you," Max rhetorically answered to Monica's invisible but obvious question. Monica couldn't look at him straight in the face.

"But… you lost your parents…"

"Like you did…" Max continued her sentence. "Look, Monica… I swear I'm fine… what we have to worry about now is what to do next."

Monica didn't reply. "Look, Monica, I said I'm f---"

"Max," Monica interrupted in a low tone. "Feeling insensitive doesn't make you stronger. I learned that the hard way. Weren't you the one who taught me that?"

Max listened to her words; they sank too deep into his heart to ignore.He remembers the caring touch of his father's hands and the soothingmelodyof his mother's voice - andfinally released the tears he'd been holding onto for so long under his eyes. He leaned on Monica crying as hard as he could to let the pain go away. Monica let him cry for a few minutes, until he finally dried his tears. "…Thanks."

"Thank yourself," Monica smiled. "Just give me some credit as you do."

"Hey, Max! Monica!" Donny suddenly shouted from far away, waving. "Come over here to the side of the train!" Max and Monica nodded to each other as they ran towards Donny's direction. "We'd have called you earlier, but Osmond wouldn't stop kissing the train… even though I told him not to."

"Thanks for not calling us earlier," Monica commented, imagining what the scene looked like with a feeling of throwing up. "I wouldn't want to see THAT disturbing sight."

As they arrived, Donny, Osmond (who had stopped train-kissing), Cedric, and the mayor were there too. Mayor Need walked over to them and patted them both on the shoulders. "Max. Monica… Looks like it's up to you two again."

Max tightened his fist in agreement.Althougha lot of people he cared about were gone, there were still a lot of them left. These are the ones he has to careof now.There was still something he had to do. "...We're up for it."

"Good," Cedric said. "Let's gather over here then, and we'll explain the details."

They all sat on the floor where Osmond laid a diagram. He took out some of his notes and said, "Now listen. The train's still no good I'm afraid, but I looked at the current notes I have on the time-eating beast we have to fight against."

"So what do we have?" Monica asked.

"It doesn't say much other than describe its destructive invincibility, but the notes I translated says that more information can be found on a stone slab located in what is now Palm Brinks."

"Great," Donny shuddered. "What's the good news?"

Osmond grinned triumphantly. "Good news… is that the stone slab can't be erased from time."

They all gasped in amazement as Osmond continued. "Yes, that means the only location it will end up as said in the scriptures is somewhere along _The Nothing_."

"That's all fine and dandy," Cedric interrupted, "but where is this… "The Nothing"?"

Osmond pointed to every direction available. "…Where there."

"The Nothing…" Max gasped as he admired the starless space in the sky – a destruction of existence known as The Nothing.

"That means," Osmond continued, "that that stone slab is still floating out there… somewhere…"

"Not only that," the mayor added, "but that could also mean that we could analyze that slab to protect ourselves from this beast's time-destroying powers."

"NOW you're thinking like a talking rabbit!" Osmond praised, although no one really understood what that meant. _It must've been a rabbit joke_, everyone thought.

"Question is," Donny this time interrupted, "how're we gonna get out there without protection? Even the train ain't gonna last out there in that Nothin' thing!"

Everyone sighed simultaneously as the plan went back to square one. It sounded simple enough, but as everyone knows: the good guys never have it easy.

But as everyone thought of an idea, Max suddenly heard an anguish scream. "What was that?"

"I heard it," Cedric commented as he took out his wrench. As an inventor, his weapon is also a heavily modified battle wrench. "It's those space-distorting hooligans again."

Max and Monica took out their weapons and readied for a fight… as the distortion demons entered the shielding of their station and charged with hostility.

**To be continued…**

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**NEXT CHAPTER:** A new form of these nameless creatures arises, this time with huge wings, a deadly scream, and a significant secret. Monica's transforming powers might be the trick this time! But what about the Ancient One's stone slab? What possible wisdom can it give to defeat the undefeatable?

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**The Several:** _As you can see, I revived the power of Monica's monster transformation, realizing I've never used it in a previous fic. In my opinion, monster transformations kinda sucked! I mean, transforming into a Baron Balloon or a Spider Witch? EWWWW! And transforming into a skeleton with a jacket isn't all that cool either. Why couldn't they just let us transform into a BoneLord or a Golem? Now THAT would be awesome! (Transforming into a boss wouldn't be so bad either)_

_Also, if you've noticed, I've never done a story WITHOUT a happy conclusion. This one (hopefully) will be no different. But what separates this particular story from the rest though, is that Max and Monica will lose more here than any other story I've ever done._


	4. A Gift Beyond, A Will

**THE LAST OF TIME**

A _Dark Cloud 2_ Fanfic

**Chapter 4: A Gift Beyond, A Will----**

By The Several

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The screeching got louder, and so did the panicked murmering by the frightened townsfolk. There, in the middle of Nothing, anything could lurk in the darkness. Their enemies were close, that much they were sure of.

Suddenly, the space-distorting demons crashed down from the time barrier Dr. Osmond set up. Unlike the first attackers, these ones were hardly invisible and took a bird-like form.

"A different type of those space-distortin' varmints," Donny commented as he sets up his Glacier Machinegun for action. "These will be easier to look for, that much for certain!"

"Well then we better hurry in doing that, lads, 'cause there's more coming this way!" Cedric exclaims as he poised his battle wrench for action and rushed into the fray.

Max and Monica did so as well as Mayor Need took the rest of the townsfolk into safety.

As she took down the flying demons with her father's gift sword, the holy _Daedalus_, she looks back to Need who was doing his best in leading his townspeople to safety. "Heh, I used to think that mayor of yours was a wimp."

"He's changed," Max replied to her at the same time he replied to the attackers with bullets from his transforming gun, Reguel, in its final machinegun form, _Last Resort_. "We've got to give the same effort too."

"Way ahead of you," Monica smirked as she aimed her arms to the sky and unleashed cyclone winds with her magic brassard, _Sanctity_. The whirling boomerangs cut through her flying opponents who dissipate in defeat.

"Whoa! What the darn cryin' cow is happenin'?" Donny suddenly erupted. He then shakingly points to the end of the train station, which to everyone's surprise, the landmass was increasing!

"What's going on? Is the land returning?"

"We'll worry about that later," Monica interrupted. "Watch out!"

Thanks to Monica's warning, Max evades, but only barely escaping fromvibrations the flying abominations sent through their "mouths" as they unleashed an earth-shaking quake on him. "Ahhh! That's loud!" Max exclaims as he covered his ears from hearing their banshee screams.

"That must be their attack," Monica figured as she slashed the attacker in half. "A focused sound wave with enough strength to pack a deadly punch."

"Evade those at all costs!" Donny shouted to everyone. "If your skin gets hit by their sound, you'll end up with only a wound. But if it hits your hard bones, there's enough vibration to get devastating results!"

"You mean we'll end up boneless?" Cedric questioned hysterically.

"Worse," Donny replied with a sweat, "or you could explode inside out!"

"Damn!" Monica cursed as she tore a few more of her enemies apart. "If these guys just keep coming like this... No! It has to end here now!" With that, she takes out another sword, _Dark Cloud_, and equips it in her other hand. She also takes out several more brassards and equips it one on each hand and on each leg. "Now we'll see who's cookin'!"

She jumps to the air as another of these nameless flying creatures go past. She lands on its back and does a sideways somersault. With her spin, she unleashes the full power of each of the brassards and blasts magic energy on all directions, creating a swirling vortex of destructive energy that even the toughest enemies would be sucked in its deadly typhoon. Thanks to her magic spin attack, she destroyed a miraculous number of the flying fiends.

"Awesome!" Max commented, but knowing that so much energy output will tire her out. He runs underneath to where she was, and as she fell down, was ready to catch her.

"Nice catch," Monica said exhaustingly. "But Max, I need to tell you something…"

Max looks around and sees that everyone has destroyed the remaining flying creatures that Monica didn't destroy. "Well, I guess it's okay now. What is it?"

Monica opened her mouth, but no words came out. "Maybe… It's better to tell it to everyone."

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The group gathered again near the Blackstone train, waiting for the speech Monica wanted to give. Max could see her reluctancy in telling her story, and it gave him a dark sense of forboding… an ominous foretelling.

"I think…" Monica started in a low tone but cautious tone so that the townsfolk around couldn't hear. "…These space-distortion demons we just fought… I think they're remnants of time that was destroyed by our enemy."

They all thought for a moment. With Monica's explanation, it made more sense. But what got them all thinking was why Monica was so reluctant to say so.

"It makes a bucket o' sense," Donny concluded. "When we destroyed them flyin' critters, a piece of the original landmass of this time period came back. That means if we destroy them all, we can get this time period back to the way it was!"

"It's not easy to restore a whole world piece by piece, lad," Cedric grumblingly replied to Donny's enthusiastic answer. He then looked to Monica with a serious tone and said, "But that's not all, is it?"

"No…" Monica replied, her voice choking to spell out what she wanted to say. She looks at Max, saying to all of them, "They might also be the people in this time as well."

Everyone gasped. Monica didn't take her eyes out of Max's, her eyes ready to take tears. "That last one I killed… I somehow sensed your father was inside its shell…"

Max swallowed. She killed him. She killed his father. Monica _killed_ his father. It sounded neither like good news nor bad news.But whenever there was a time for things to turn for the worst, then this must have been it. "B-But that means… he'll turn back into human, right? L-Like the landscape did?"

Osmond patted his shaking shoulder. "I'm sorry, Max… But since wherever he turns back into human is not protected by my shield, the only two things that could have happened to him is he turned back into one of those space-anomalies. Or…"

"…Or died right there where Monica killed his abominated body," Max interrupted, looking at the ground. He didn't want to look at Monica, for fear of hating her for finishing of what was left of his dear father. He wanted revenge. He thought he could control it, but it was a rage so far off, the point of no return vanished before it appeared. Although he knew it wasn't her fault, his anger could only think of pointing the blame at someone. Anyone. Even if it was Monica.

But he couldn't. That wasn't Max. He would have rathered blame himself for his own father's death than blame it on Monica, or rather, than blame it on anyone else. His anger took the form of tears that fell like an echo to the floor.

"Um, Max…" Monica stutteringly said. At that time, it would have been better to have left him alone to let him recollect his thoughts. But time was something they could not afford, and what she had to show might bring him back to light.

Max looked to her first with tears… and then with sudden surprise and amazement. "W… What's that in your hand?"

Everyone stared wonderously at the piece of silver crystal glowing in Monica's hand as she reach out to show it to Max. "It fell from the creature whose presence I felt your father in… I think it's a gift from him…"

"What do you mean?" Max asked, trying to find both answers and comfort in her words.

Monica then held the crystal close to her heart. "This is a fragment of your father's will. If I hold it close to my thoughts, I feel like I can hear his voice…" She then looks to Max with a smile. "With this, I can transform into one of those flying creatures, enabling me to leave the safety of the shield to search for theanswers we're looking for."

"Max... there's still hope."

**To be continued…**

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**NEXT CHAPTER:** Gerald's will to protect his only son enable the duo to search for the inerasable tablet with a badge of transformation. With a way to get the stone tablet within their grasp, will they be able to finally find the name of their undefeatable enemy – and with that, a way to destroy it forever?

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**The Several: **_I've powered up Monica's arsenal, as you have read so far. A magic brassard on all limbs and two-sword fighting! Plus, she has her own space-distortion monster transformation! Now, she's even more kick-ass than ever! I wonder what Max is going to learn this time to catch up to her kick-assiness? Certainly no less than what she's gotten!_

_Also, I'd like to take this time to congratulate everyone for keeping Dark Cloud alive. You know, when I made my first story, there were only at least 50 DC stories. Now when I checked, there's more than double of that! Thanks to everyone who makes and reads the Dark Cloud fanfics!_


	5. Malachi

**THE LAST OF TIME**

A _Dark Cloud 2 _Fanfic

**Chapter 5: Malachi----**

By The Several

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**The Several:** _Sorry about the late update. I have a job now (even though I'm a minor), so now I have less time to do everything I want. Whaaaaaa!_

On other news, the chapter title's pronounced "Mala-kai" not "Mala-chee". It's an "aaa" sound not an "eee" sound.

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"My father's will…" Max murmured to himself soft enough only for Monica to hear. He gazes at the small silver crystal that, as Monica said, his departed father left behind. "B-But how? I thought he…"

"Max," Monica interrupted as she slowly explained. "The soul of the departed cannot die. Their bodies do, but the soul returns to the planet and grows anew. This is the cycle of our lives." Monica held the crystal tightly to her heart, and felt a warm sensation filling her spirit. "When I first met your father, I think he didn't like nor trusted me very well. This," Monica showed, "it felt like he finally does. Like I'm a part of your family."

"Family…" Max repeated. How those words continued inside his mind, like a long dream made a reality. That Monica fulfilled. He felt stupid to forget everything that had meaning to him.

"Don't you remember, Max?" Monica questioned him. "You're the one who told me that. It wasn't just advice… it was the basis of your principles. Though our parents have left us, I think… maybe their spirits still watch over us." Monica then began to wobble a bit. Using her powers to finish off the battle earlier left her empty and tired. "And maybe…"

"…maybe that's where you'll find him…" Monicaended before finally collapsing.

"Whoopsie, lass," Cedric says as he catches her. "Looks like she's a little tired. Don't worry, I'll let her lie down for now."

As Cedric left with Monica, Max stares at her tired but smiling form. Donny comes from behind him and says, "Ya know, I used to think that chick was a lot more trouble than she's worth."

Max was silent for a moment. "…And now?"

Donny thinks for a minute, and replies, "I guess he kinda reminds me of you, in a way. Right now, what you used to be."

Donny then pats him on the back and began to walk away. "...She's your light. Don't lose sight of her."

As Donny went off into the distance to rest, Max concentrated… and as Monica said, he felt a rush of wind flow around him. A feeling of not being alone, as if being protected by some unseen force. Like a father's guiding hand, or a mother's gentle touch. Maybe both.

Max looks to the distance with a smile. "…Don't worry. I won't."

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Monica felt a little groggy, but her eyesight seemed to be returning. When they started to open, all she could see was… green?

Monica suddenly stood up, realizing she was in a green tent. She looks around, seeing that the townsfolk had set up a lot of them around the area. Without houses inside the train station, the tents would have had to do for so many. After all, it was a whole town of people inside the station, and there could only be so much space. Some of the people even slept inside the trains.

Though that was true, the place was still lively. The side-shops near the entrance became open and food was being served - as if nothing had happened. Monica was happy that through all that the people have been through, the smiles from their faces could never disappear.

"Oh, your awake." Monica looks to her side surprised to see Mena there, carrying some medicine. "How are you feeling?"

Monica touches her forehead and replies, "I've been better. Just lost some energy, that's all."

Monica felt uncomfortable. Although Mena replied to her with a smile, all she felt was a frown under that face when Mena had turned around. Mena was hiding something. Or maybe it's just her. Either way, it was followed by an uncomfortable silence.

"I heard that you have the ability to go outside the barrier now…" Mena suddenly spoke out of the blue.

"Um, yes, that's correct…" Monica replied shakingly, feeling awkward. She hadn' felt that way when Mena was helping her on their previous adventure. Heck, she even fought beside her on those occasions. But why now?

"Naturally, Max is going with you. Right?"

_'Naturally?'_

Monica scratched her head. "Well, if there was a way to do that, I guess he would be."

Monica's heart suddenly jumped when Mena accidentally dropped what she was holding, smashing the items to the floor. "O-Oh! Sorry about that…"

Picking the broken pieces up, she turned away, leaving the tent. Before she got out of the tent fully, without looking to Monica she said, "Please take care of Max."

As she left, Monica was left to ponder what the heck was going on. "…What was that about?"

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"…So it's settled then," Cedricdeclaired as he slapped hishand onto the blueprintslying on thefloor."Since Monica can get out of the barrier unharmed, she'll stand a better chance of finding that stone tablet we've been searchin' for."

"Well, not exactly," Osmond interrupted. "Here, Max. Catch," he said as he threw a small contraption to Max.

"W… What is this?" Max questioned as he examined the small device Osmond handed him.

"That's a smaller version of the time barrier, just finished it today. With it, you can join Monica to search for the tablet. I'm sure you're worried about her going alone."

"O… Of course I am. I don't think she should do it alone, especially out there in The Nothing…"

"Of course not," Monica suddenly says from behind him. Max turns around and sees that she's all well – and changed too. She's wearing her new clothes from when she was searching for Max before. Her modified violet sleeveless jacket-vest and pants, and her blue scarf. "We're a team, right?"

"You changed?" Max said, sort of pouting. "I'm kind of jealous. I want a new costume too!"

"Master Maximilian!" someone suddenly shouted from behind. Max looked around to see that it was the housemaid, Adel. Although living in Sindain since the trouble with Emperor Griffon began, she had always been loyal to Maximilian's family.

Moving closer to Max, she smiles, "Here, Master Maximilian. I thought you needed a change of clothes…"

Handing him over some change of clothing, Max checks them out and smiles. "Wow! Thanks, Adel! You always have the right timing!"

Adel blushes and bows to hide her face. "T-Thank you, Young Master."

Max laughs and pats her on the shoulder. "You don't need to call me that. I told you… call me Max."

"Y-Yes, Youn--- I mean… Max. Thank you," she bows again. "Please take care of yourself. Ferdinand and the others are worried about you too."

Max winks with a smile. "Don't worry, I will! Please thank them for me too. Now… I better go get changed!" With that, he enters the privacy of one the train cars and changes.

As Adel leaves, she looks to Monica and says, "Take care of the Young Master too, Miss Monica."

Monica felt threatened. First it was Mena, and now Adel. "…Was there something I did?"

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"Looking good," Monica smiles with a thumbs up as she looked at the new Max. Adel purposely made his costume look similar in design to Monica's, with his green open jacket-vest, his cargo pants, and now with gun holsters at both sides of his waist. Last but not the least, his traditional cap sitting proudly on his head.

"Hahaha! Thanks!" Max laughed. Seeing this, Monica felt relieved that Max wasn't mad at her and that with what she said, Max was finally able to get his own hapless-happy self back. It suited him well. "Well, let's go and get that stone tablet!"

Monica nods and holds the silver crystal close to her heart. With a bright emitted light, Monica was instantly transformed into one of the nameless flying beasts. "Hop on!" the flying beast said with Monica's voice.

"You mean… on your back?"

"Duh. Now shaddap and get!" Monica urged. With that, Max climbed on and turned on his time shield. As Monica's gigantic form aimed for the sky, Max suddenly heard a cute little cry from a little girl down below.

"...Corrine? What are you doing? We're already leaving! Get out of there or you'll get swept away!"

"Max! Max! Where are you gwoing?" Corrine shouted, as Monica's transformed self flapped its gigantic wings for a liftoff.

"Don't worry, Corrine! I'll be back in a few! Be a good little girl now!" Max said with a goodbye salute as the transformed Monica flew towards the sky and onto the vast emptiness of The Nothing. Corrine waved away, as she saw the two disappear into the distance – into the bowels of darkness.

"So this is The Nothing…" Monica whispered to herself, eyeing the location of a world that stopped existing. "But there's nothing around this place but darkness!"

"Well, it IS called The Nothing, so I guess it's only normal that there IS nothing." Standing on Monica's gargantuan back, Max looked around for even a glimpse of something else other than black. "Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh… Wait! I think I see something glowing over yonder!"

"Over yonder? People still say that?"

"Concentrate, Monica! Look! Over there, where the darkness is!"

"…."

"Sorry… turn east!"

Gliding to wherever "right" was in a place of no directions, the transformed Monica sees what seemed to be a glimmer of light, barely shining in the darkness of The Nothing…

…Behind thousands more of the unnamed flying demons.

"Crap."

"I guess we're not done yet!" Max smirked, gearing up for the fight with his gun and wrench.

As Monica dives into the sea of the distortion creatures to begin their attack, she was reminded of one other ability she had forgotten that her monster transformation gives her advantage of -the knowledge of tongue of the creature she had transformed into.

As Monica flew through the sea of beasts that flew around her, she was surprised to hear hundreds of voices calling out to her, saying the same thing over and over again:

"_Abomination,"_ the voices said as if coming from a single being that spoke in different intervals. _"Why do you deviate from the orders of The Malachi?"_

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**NEXT CHAPTER:** Max and Monica discover the identity of their enemy, as well as the names of each individual type that is under it. Although they now have the knowledge and the power to travel through time, the same question remained: what IS The Malachi?

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**The Several:** _What's up with Mena and Adel in this chapter? Heeheehee! I'm sure some of you have guesses, but the answer to this question will have to wait! It'll be revealed, sooner or later. I also put in Corrine in this chapter because she's going to play a big part in this story as well. I'll try to give an important element for all the characters in DC2 for this one._

_Wanna know something funny? Even though it's summer time, I have less time to write fanfics now than I did when I had school. Though the reason for that is because I'm writing instead of doing homework (baaaad!) _

_Good news is, thanks to everyone writing fanfics, as I read them I've been given more inspirations to write. And now, I'm writing even if it takes me all night! It'll give me less sleep, but it's worth it!_


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